Mpls couple in jail for 'barbaric' child abuse case

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minneapolis mother and her boyfriend are in jail, both charged with abusing her 6-year-old son in what police investigators are calling one of the worst child abuse cases they have ever seen.

The suspect, Troy Lamont Clay, 37, of Brooklyn Center, is charged with first degree assault and is in the Hennepin County jail. The boy's mother, Jacquelyn Wanda Williams, 31, was also charged with assault.

Authorities say the boy was tied to a pole in his basement with a telephone cord and beaten with an extension cord by Clay, said Sgt. William Palmer of the Minneapolis Police Department. Williams allegedly watched while the boy was beaten.

Lt. Greg Reinhardt described the beatings as "something out of the dark ages," and called it a "barbaric beating." Reinhardt told KARE the boy was whipped 60 to 100 times.

The 6-year-old boy initially told school officials that a dog had attacked him when they discovered his injuries. He later told authorities, "I got my butt whooped" by his "dad," according to the criminal complaint.

The boy was examined last week by a pediatrician with expertise in child abuse. "There is virtually no skin on the back without evidence of trauma," he told authorities, according to the complaint. Some of the scarring will be permanent, he said.

The alleged beatings took place at a home located in the 4300 block of Irving Avenue North in north Minneapolis.

Police say there is evidence that the 10-year-old sibling of the 6-year-old was also beaten.

Both the 6-year-old victim and his 10-year-old sibling are now in protective custody.